Cuts to Indigenous anti-smoking programs will contribute to early deaths of smokers: Tom Calma

The Tackling Indigenous Smoking Program has suffered budget cuts of $130 million over five years according to its national coordinator, Tom Calma. He says cutting the program's anti-smoking initiatives will contribute to the early deaths of Indigenous smokers. Indigenous smoking rates for men are about double those of their non-Indigenous counterparts, and in some remote communities, rates are over 70 per cent. Tom Calma says with the budget cuts, it's near impossible to meet a key target of halving Indigenous smoking rates by 2018.

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DAVID MARK: The former race discrimination commissioner says cuts in this year's budget mean it will be nearly impossible to meet a key Closing the Gap target to reduce Indigenous smoking levels.

Anti-smoking programs for non-Indigenous Australians have achieved great success in the last 70 years, with rates dropping to one in five for men and less for women.

By contrast, around half all Aboriginal adults smoke.

Tom Calma is warning that cuts to the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program will contribute to the early deaths of Aboriginal smokers.

Sarah Dingle reports.

SARAH DINGLE: In the 1940s, more than 70 per cent of non-Indigenous Australian men were smokers.

After decades of initiatives from cutting tobacco advertising to introducing non-smoking areas, that fell to just 20 per cent.

However, former race discrimination commissioner Tom Calma says Indigenous Australia has been left behind.

TOM CALMA: In the Indigenous population, it's around about 42 per cent of our people smoke, so it's over double the smoking incidence of the general population, but in some of our remoter communities, we know that it's as high as 70 per cent.

SARAH DINGLE: Such high smoking rates have significant implications for the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians.

Last year, the single greatest point of agreement for all states and territories was to reduce chronic disease by reducing smoking rates, according to the Closing the Gap steering committee report.

In 2010, Tom Calma became the national coordinator of the new Tackling Indigenous Smoking program, with teams of six around the country running anti-smoking programs targeting Indigenous Australians.

Fully funded, their budget is $65 million a year, but in this year's budget, Tom Calma says there was a decision made to cut their funding by $130 million over five years - or effectively more than a third of their annual funding.

TOM CALMA: In Darwin, we've got a situation where, where one of our major teams, which would normally have six staff, they now only have two staff. They're only doing a third of what they had the capacity to do.

Other services are in a similar boat around the nation.

SARAH DINGLE: At the same time as the cuts, there was a review announced of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program but Tom Calma says even if it's positive, he's not confident that will restore funding levels.

TOM CALMA: No, not at all confident and, because you know, two things: I think one is there's already been an announcement of $130 million cut is the first, and the second is that there seems to be a general interest in finding further savings, you know, across all programs, and what concerns me is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs are easy hits.

You know, to be able to take a small population group, not a big kickback if the funding is reduced. The Prime Minister, who also is the champion for Indigenous affairs, says that he's fully committed to the Closing the Gap campaign.

I think the question has got to be is what is he committed to in that program. You know, is it about health equality, which is what the Close the Gap campaign was all about, and I think only the Prime Minister can talk about that.

SARAH DINGLE: Do you think with the cuts to your program, will we meet that target of halving Indigenous smoking rates by 2018?

TOM CALMA: The team had to be fully funded, had to be functional, and so the chances of reaching that 2018 target is near impossible now.

TOM CALMA: The logic is that a reduction in information will mean that there will be people who don't receive that information to make an informed choice, and that will contribute to, you know, their early demise.

SARAH DINGLE: And a spokesperson for Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash says the Government is committed to addressing tobacco related illness in Indigenous people.

The spokesperson says the review of the current Tackling Indigenous Smoking program will ensure that funding is directed towards services which deliver results.